Archive for the ‘proud owners’ tag

November’s issue of Hemmings Classic Car (#122) celebrates the 100th anniversary of one of America’s greatest auto manufacturers. For this commemorative issue, we asked for your Dodge stories, and you delivered (and then some). We received hundreds of emails, letters, flash drives, discs and newspaper clippings illustrating your love and allegiance to the Dodge brand. We, of course, couldn’t feature everything in that issue, but we felt we should show some of those that missed the cut in our blog.

“Back then we had them all. Chargers, Challengers, Darts and Super Bees, but they were just cars, so we sold them. If only we knew then what they would be worth today, we would have kept them all. Now we travel to California and buy a lot of these cars, and our favorites are the five (yes, five) Dodge Dart Convertibles. Four are painted red with black interiors and the fifth has a red interior with a four-speed. Our grandson Carter loves to ride in them. The only one he does not like is the six-cylinder, because it is not a “cool” car and it’s not noisy!”

Photo courtesy William J. Hupke.

1938 Dodge – William J. Hupke; Combined Locks, Wisconsin

“This Dodge was ordered new by my great grandfather, Herman Hupke. He ordered it with a factory radio so he could listen to the baseball games on a Sunday drive. He picked it up in Green Bay as it arrived on a ferry from Detroit. He drove it until 1968 when he gave it to my father, and it sat in my parents’ garage until 1979 when my dad gave it to me. My dad and I restored it frame-off restoration, and I finished it my senior year in high-school. We kept it as original as possible. It has the flathead six with low-end torque as it drives very nicely at 50 mph. It was a farmer’s car and hauled milk cans and trailered heifers on occasion.”

Photo courtesy Richard Kemplin.

1941 Dodge Deluxe Coupe – Richard Kemplin; Poway, California

“In 1941, I was 10 years old. One day, I remember, we kids were playing in the street in front of a friend’s house. Whenever the occasional car would come by, we would move to the side to let it pass. This day, a brand new 1941 Dodge coupe drove by. I remember thinking what a neat looking car! It was long and sleek and, to me, it resembled a Russian airplane called the Sturmavik.”

“About 10 years ago, my son Bill told me that he’d bought a ’41 Dodge coupe. He intended to restore the car and agreed to let me be a partner in the restoration. We started a body-off restoration and worked on it for the last 10 years, finally finishing it in June of this year. With its rebuilt 91-hp straight-six engine, the car seems to like cruising at about 55 mph.”

Photo courtesy Mario Ruiseco.

1968 Sportsman Van – Mario Ruiseco; Los Angeles, California

“In 1986, I was getting my car fixed when I noticed the van. I fell in love, and bought it for $1,350. The van has been a daily driver since. I’m in construction, so the van was a perfect choice. The cargo space is over 8 feet long and 4 feet wide, perfect for drywall, plywood, lumber, cement, etc. Rated at 1/2 –ton, this 318 automatic has carried many times a ton or more. I can put a stick of lumber 14 feet long in the van and close the back door. It’s also great for camping!”

Photo courtesy Chuck and Mary Ann Rouse.

1955 Coronet – Chuck & Mary Ann Rouse; Midlothian, Illinois

“In May of 1955, I looked at the Custom Royal Lancers, but they were out of my price range. The salesman said we should look in the garage. There it was, a 1955 Dodge Coronet, two-tone green, 270 V-8 with a two-speed PowerFlite transmission. We haggled, I said put some whitewalls on it and I’ll buy it. After 10 years and 150,000 trouble-free miles, it was time for it to go. I sold it to a vet for $1,500 and he drove it for two more years, trouble free. What a car!”

“In 1988, I did find another ’55 Coronet two-door just like the one we had, with only 22,000 miles. It needed paint, exhaust, seats and, of course, the whitewall tires, then it would be my retirement car. Being a member of the WPC Club, we’ve attended most national meets from Seattle to Rutland, Vermont, and we even took it to see Mickey Mouse in Orlando. My Dodge has been to 46 of the lower 48 states, all trouble free. The car now has 148,700 miles and still looks the same as it did 20 years ago. I’ll drive it till it goes or I go. I sure love that Dodge.”

Photo courtesy James Petrosino.

1957 Coronet and 1964 Dart GT – James Petrosino; Port Byron, New York

“Both of these hardtops came from South Carolina. The ’57 Coronet has the 325 two-barrel engine, runs and drives very well. It was once owned by Lynn Cooper Jr., whose father opened Cooper Motors (an original Dodge dealership) in the late 1930s; they are still in business today. The ’64 Dart GT has the infamous 225 slant-six with 102,000 miles and runs and drives like new. It was repainted by the second owner, and I am the third owner.”

Photo courtesy James Petrosino.

“I have owned many Mopars since 1960, my first being a 1950 Dodge Club Sedan. I have found them to be very dependable automobiles up until the early ’70s. I tell my mechanics all the time that the last really good car I owned was a 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger six-cylinder two-door hardtop!”

Photo courtesy Matthew R. Alles.

1977 W150 Macho Power Wagon – Matthew R. Alles; Escondido, California

“This Macho has a 360-cu.in. two-bbl carbureted engine rated for heavy-duty use corresponding to the 6,100-lb. GVRW, a little trick by Dodge to get away from installing catalytic converters on HD trucks. The 727A automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel-drive transfer case handles the power and sends it to a corporate 9 ¼” rear differential and Dana 44 front diff. shod in 3.55:1 gears. With the Macho package, the buyer got radical paint and tape kits on the sides, hood and rear tailgate as well as a roll bar with mounting tabs for lighting or a CB radio antenna, and black vinyl bucket seats.”

“This truck was built for the California market, with minimal smog equipment such as an air pump, PCV, and temperature-controlled EGR valve and EVAP canister. Found in San Diego in very poor condition and ‘monster trucked’ by a novice, it was rebuilt in stages from 2006 thru 2013. The drivetrain is numbers matching and most of the sheetmetal is ’77. Everything is Dodge, but like most projects, there is always something to be done to make it better; so the restoration, for me, is never really complete. It is this idea of ‘not quite perfect’ that keeps others like me in our hobby interested and active in our quest for keeping our Dodge vehicles alive and running strong for the next 100 years.”

“My father would have found it very ironic that his old car, which was basically a ‘ranch wagon’ and was run for 230,000 miles before the odometer stopped working, would be shown in a concours show and actually win an award. We ran the Dodge all over the state of Nevada hunting and fishing and used it on the ranch to haul hay. All five of his kids were delivered home after birth in the Dodge, and all five learned how to drive the stick shift in the middle of an alfalfa field on the ranch. Because we were too short to see out with the front seat in place, we removed it and sat on a wooden crate for a front seat.

“After a particularly severe winter in 1962, the woodie, with a cracked engine block, was finally relegated to storage in the barn, where it remained until 2005. That fall, the five Lawrence siblings pooled their resources and shipped the woodie to commence a frame-up restoration in hopes of presenting it to our father who was 94 years old. Sadly, he passed away in April 2006 and was unable to see his woodie returned to its original condition. I’m sure he would have been thrilled to take the old woodie for a drive again, although I fear he would roll over in his grave if he knew how much we spent restoring the old girl.”

Photo courtesy George Bartunek.

1923 Roadster – George Bartunek; Calverton, New York

“I was always interested in having a road-worthy four-cylinder Dodge Brothers car, because I learned how to drive on a DB touring that had been transformed into a truck, as many early Dodges were because the mechanics of the vehicle were so tough and reliable. I purchased the car in 1994, solely based upon a photograph that quite frankly didn’t show the amount of work that would be required to restore it. Although mechanically, the car was in relatively good condition, there was nothing remaining of the upholstery and it seemed quite possible that it never did come with a top. The bodywork was performed during the winter of ’94-’95 at a local shop, and the upholstery and top were done by a semi-retired upholsterer. Compared to some of the stories about the amount of time and treasure that people devote to the restoration of a collectible car, this was completed in an amazingly short time. The car was on the road by the fall of 1995.”

Photo courtesy Virginia L. Kinney.

1948 Convertible – Virginia L. Kinney; Pleasant Hill, Ohio

“In 1948, my husband, Royce Kinney, saw an ad for an outstanding automobile, a 1948 Dodge convertible. It was a beautiful color called Panama Sand. The convertible was a six-cylinder, 230-cu.in. equipped with a Fluid Drive. It was classified as a D-24 model. His father ordered one for the family, and it was delivered to their business on July 1, 1948. Royce slept in that car that night because he thought it was so beautiful.”

Photo courtesy Virginia L. Kinney.

“This car was the one that Royce chose to take his date to the Junior-Senior Prom in 1951. The girl he took to the prom would become his wife. The 1948 convertible has remained a prize possession to us. The car, girl, formal gown and the necktie as shown in the photo are still in our possession.

“The car has been restored and is being enjoyed. It was recently in a local parade, and our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are frequent riders.”

Photo courtesy David E. Hyatt.

1972 Charger SE – David E. Hyatt; Rome, New York

“In 1971, I came home from a tour of duty in Vietnam. My parents had always had a Chrysler or Dodge, which made the Dodge Charger very appealing to me. That February or March of 1972, I ordered a four-speed 400 four-barrel with positive traction from A.J. Ryan Motors in Rome, New York. It had bucket seats and a vinyl black top. I originally wanted the 440, but everyone told me I wouldn’t be able to afford the insurance. I received the car in April, and it was a great car. It was my baby.”

“In 1974, I met my future wife, and we were soon married. In 1977, we decided to trade the Charger in for a four-wheel-drive Dodge Ram. We lived in the North Country, Boonville, New York, where there is plenty of snow. It was my biggest mistake, and I should have kept it. We moved back to Rome, and I would see the car every now and then. The girl who owned it sold it in the early 2000s, and I thought I would never see it again.”

“In August of 2011, I saw an ad in the local swap sheet for a 1972 Charger SE, but it had just been sold. I watched the ads for months, but saw nothing. I put in a wanted ad for the car in May 2012, and on the last day the ad ran, I received a call. My wife and I went to look at it, and I knew right off it was my old car, without looking at the VIN. The exterior was in great shape, but the interior needed a lot of work. I put in a new dash, new carpet, painted the floors and trunk, replaced the leaking power steering unit, and put in a new gas tank. This year, I’m looking to replace the bucket seats and vinyl roof. It is a great feeling having the Charger back in my possession, and I certainly won’t be selling it again.”

Photo courtesy Dan Schaffer.

1954 1/2-Ton Pickup – Dan Schaffer; St. Paul, Minnesota

“I purchased my 1954 Dodge 1/2-ton pickup back in 1987. It was parked on the lot of a gas station a couple of blocks from my home here in St. Paul. The original owner lived just down the street from me, and after he passed away, it was part of the estate. It had been parked 15 years before its ‘revival,’ which basically was exterior paint.”

Photo courtesy Dan Schaffer.

“I had no idea how rare this truck was with ‘Truck-O-Matic’ transmission until I ran into Mr. Don Bunn at a truck show in Southern Minnesota. It turned out to be the best meeting ever. We became fast friends, and Don was the leading authority on Dodge trucks probably in the country. He told me how fortunate I was to find this rare jewel.

“Throughout the years, he would come over to our house and get another ‘dose’ of our truck. Sadly, I learned the other day that Don passed away on June 18th. His knowledge of Dodge trucks will live on in his 13 published books. When he test-drove our truck, he was like a kid in the candy store. What great memories.”

I think the time has come to introduce you to Charlie Beesley. I’ve known him for about a decade now, and he never fails to astonish me every time he sends me another batch of car pictures.

Charlie wrote me initially around 2003 and in his letter mentioned that he’d managed to put together a slightly different, slightly unusual photo collection that centers on automobiles.

He explained that for years he’d gone around to flea markets, junk shops and postcard shows and simply gleaned. He wasn’t looking for bargains or works of art or something he could use around the house. He was looking for photographs of everyday life, snapshots taken by ordinary people. The snapshooters often struggled with uncooperative cameras, squirming subjects and bad lighting. That suited Charlie fine, and he kept searching for pictures that captured little accidental miracles of offbeat composition, that told a story, that encapsulated some aspect of American life.

So actually, “car pictures” isn’t the right title for this series, because it implies that these are photographs of cars. These are not just photos of cars. Most aren’t even pictures in which the car stands out as the main subject. Charlie went around looking for pictures that had cars in them… simple snapshots… the idea being to come up with records, freezes in time, that basically have to do with culture and history. The snap might be of an event, a vacation, two people out on a date, or it might be just a passing moment in someone’s daily routine. But you’ll see a car in the frame, and it usually captures not only the personality and stylistic preferences of its owner, but also the spirit of the times.

What Charlie and I want to do in this series is to bring you some of his “car pictures,” arranged in categories. This way you can see his very different and original perspective – the type of illumination you rarely find in car magazines or even on websites having to do with cars, American life or history. In my opinion, Charlie’s been able to put together a wonderfully fascinating, entertaining collection of photographs, and I feel they need a wider audience.

I call Part I of the series “Proud Owners.” It shows cars and their owners in various stages of beaming. They take obvious pride in their recent good fortune. When someone gets a new car, or a new used car, or even after he’s owned the car for a while, he often wants to make a record of it. And that’s what Charlie’s managed to find for this first installment of the series.

Later, he and I will show you pictures of rare specimens: customs, race cars, oddballs – both human and automotive – plus other such pictures that you’re not likely to run into just anywhere. Until then, enjoy “Proud Owners.”